Briefing Paper

Making Deals for Peace: The Peace and Justice Dilemma

“Conflict mediators must constantly balance issues of peace and justice when designing peace agreements. This paper probes how peace and justice, two distinct but interrelated concepts, interact within the African peacebuilding context. Examining the different manifestations of peace and justice in post-conflict environments provides policymakers and stakeholders alike with frameworks for future peace agreements. Regional and international actors can help facilitate and promote justice in a post-conflict environment given that they remain cognisant to its local context as well as their own institutional limitations. Sifting through complexities of peace and justice not
only furthers our understanding of the peace process, but also enhances our capacities to prevent such conflicts.”